Dead end connector



Oct. 6, 1959 E. s. RAILA ETAL DEAD END CONNECTOR Filed Aug. 19, 1957 J INVENTORS fan 42o J. FA I04 BY 16 086,? Git sans ATTORNEY United States Patent DEAD. END. CONNECTOR Edward S. Raila, Norwalk, and-Robert OKeefe,f-S tamv ford, Cnn., assignors to Burndy Corporation,--a corporationof NewsYork ApplicationAugust119,1957, Serial No..6.79,01 2 3 Claims. :(Cl.':174-'79) This, invention relates toconnectors for anchoring the .ends of. .cables to. .a supporting. structure .andmore par- Qticularly .it relates to 1 dead. end connectors forjsupporting ..amain. cable qposition while electrically and mechani- ,cally coupling altap linettothe main cable. ...It.is.commoninhighpower.transmissionlinesto usean outer stranded cableeconductor made of. metal/having vention, will become more apparent by reference ,to. the

j following .description, takenv in conjunction with the-acv ighnelectrical conductivityfsuch .as aluminum, over a 1 ,reaenforcing core of. steel. An example .is the aluminum ..-.cable with. steel rte-enforcement commonlycalled ACSR.

.lntheupast, anchorage forthis type ofwttansmission .{linenhasheen provided by connectors..having two.confcentric ..s leeves. of .difierentlengths, the; outer sleeve .at-

.,tached to .the aluminum, conductor. strands and theinner sleeve attached to the steel. core. In, one prior art, dead end. type ofv connector, eachsleeve.termina.ted.at-the free end .of, the cable inaclevis and the pairof cleviseswere and=therefore,' a' balanced stress isdifficult tic-achieve.

Another type of prior art connector comprises a bent tube to which is brazed a clevis formed of a material having more advantageous structural characteristics than the material of the connector. One of the disadvantages of this type of connector is the prevention of the use of a standard clevis, since the clevis member is brazed to the bent tube connector. This brazing operation also adds to the cost of the fitting.

One of the objects of our invention, therefore, is to provide a one piece dead end connector suitable for the electrical and mechanical connection of a main line and tap line which may be attached to a supporting structure by means of the usual clevis.

Another object of my invention is to provide a one piece dead end connector which eliminates the need for multiple parts while allowing the use of an oxidizing inhibitor in one or both conductor receiving sections.

Further objects of our invention are to provide a one piece dead end connector which can be manufactured at a reduced cost due to the elimination of multiple part handling, which is labor saving during installation and in which identical connections are provided for attaching the cable members.

One of the features of our invention is the provision of -a one piece dead end connector fitting for securing a cable to a support which comprises a main line cable receiving portion and a tap line conductor receiving portion, extending angularly from the main line portion. A

neck portion having a changed cross-section connects the two line portions. The neck portion may comprise shown in Fig. 1;

2,907,814 "Patented Oct. 6, 1959 ice ..a flattened bend in.,order..to..act as.a stop for. inhibitor which maybe containedHinthe .tubular'line portion.

(The main line portion is upset or headed adjacent to the ..neck. portion inorder. to. form.,.an integral. collar to which .a. clevis'maybe coupled for securing said fittings and .cablesto a support.

.The above mentioned, and other features of. cur incompanying drawings, in which:

TFig. l is .a, viewin elevation, partly in section, of our dead end connectorinto which cables have been inserted and the connector indented to the cablemembers;

Fig, 2 is a longitudinal plan..view of. the connector ,Fig. 3., is a view in clevationshowing a pair of dead end connectors in accordance with the principles of our invention used with a jumper conductor;- and Fig.'4,is[a view in'elevation of a dead end connector in accordance .withtheprinciples of our invention .prior ..to the insertion of any cables. or. indentation operation.

"Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing a dead end connector in'accordance with the principle of. our invention is therein shown to comprise a one piece dead end type of connectorl; made of electrically conducting ductile metal, terminating. at, one endin a hollowtubular main line .portioniadapted' to receive a transmission ';'line c'able3. "The cable3 may be the conventional high strength type OfACSR" cable consisting of a steel core and an aluminum sheath-conductor member.

At the-other end a hollow tubular tap or jumperline portion4 extending at an .angle to the main line portion 2 is adapted to receive a second or jumper conductors.

A neck'portionifiintegrally connects the'main line and tap line portions 2- and 4 respectively.

The-mainlin portion"2 is upset or headed adjacent atotheneck-portion to' form a collar"7. A standard 1 clevis 8 is positioned about the collar 7 and connected toasupporting sttuctur'e'(not shown) ina conventional 40 Y mannerf-by bolt 10am nut 11. ""The main line and tap line tubular portion Z and 4 -receiVe-the conductors 3 and 5 and -are: attachedtheretoppreferably' by crimping and indentation as shown at 9a and 9b although other methods of attaching the connector to the conductor may be utilized.

A length of the tubular portion 2 may be tapered toward its free end, as shown in Fig. l, by reducing its thickness. The tapered construction has a two-fold advantage. Firstly, the strain on the connector is redistributed so that the greatest strain is furthermost from the free end or mouth of the tubular portion, which is theweakest point as it is the point where the connector first takes the load. Secondly, the effect of cable vibration is reduced by gradually relieving the notched efllect. The tensile strength of the sheath conductor member is gradually transferred to the tubular portion progressively from the month.

In many connections it is desirable to include an oxidation inhibiting compound within the connecting member. One such compound is Penetrox manufactured by the Burndy Corporation of Norwalk, Con necticut, and described in greater detail in the US. Patent No. 2,423,290 issued to W. F. Bonwitt. The dead end connector of our invention offers distinct advantages when such oxidation inhibiters are contained within the connector. It should be noted that the main tubular portion 'ishollowed, but due to the bend and the reducedcross-section of the neck, a stop is formed preventing the inhibiter compound from flowing beyond the end of the main tubular portion.

The method of manufacturing the dead end connector of our invention is extremely simple and cheap,

tion cannot flow out of the cable gripping section.

and bent at theflat to' form the neck-portion 6. This method of forming the neck 6 also produces a stop so that" any inhibiter contained in the main tubular por- AL ternately, the neck portion 8 rnay be bent Without flat- 'tening and if. the bend is' snfl'icient the. inner walls of the tube will meet andforrn a' stop'f'or the inhibiter.

The finishing operations for the dead end connector includes chamfering and tapering th'e tubular'portion and placing knurls t'o indicate'jwher'e the connector should'be'crimped. J Y

Referring to Fig.3 of the drawing the'r'e is therein shown a pair of dead end connectors 112"a'n'd' 13 coupling a pair 'of main lineiconductors 14 and 15 through a jumper conductor 26. Each-deadend' connector 12 and 13 is similar tol the dead-end connector 1 of Fig.

line portions '17 and 22 respectively. The clevises and 25 supporting the connectors "12 and 13; about col- I lars 19 and 24 maybe coupled to a supporting'structure, or in the alternative coupled to' each other in such a manner as to form a' jumper line. i v

Referring to Fig. 4 of' the drawing, an uninstalled dead end connector in accordance with the principles of our invention is therein shown to comprise a main line tubular portion 27 and. a tapline portion 28 integrally joined by a neck portion 29Q The main line tubular portion 27 is headed to form a collar 30 for attachment of a supporting clevis not shown. Each of the tubular line portions 27 and 28 is knurled at a plurality of locations 3301* and 33b to indicate where the installer should. crimp the connector. Installation of the dead end connector of our invention is extremelysimple. The oxidizing inhibitor is placed within the main line tubularportion 32, and may;also be placed withinthe tap line tubular portion 31. The main conductor is .then inserted in themain line tubular portion and a crimping tool crimps the connector to the conductor '1 and includes mainline tubular portioiis"16 and 21, collars 19 and 24, integralfliiecks 18 and 23, and jumper at the point indicated by the knurling. In a similar manner the tap line maybe coupled to the dead end connector.

While we have described above the principles of our invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of our invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanying claims.

We claim: I I 1 1. A one piece fitting for securing a cable toa supportformed of a malleable metal tube having a given diameter'comprising' a main line portion for electrically and mechanically connecting said cable, a tap line portion for electrically and mechanically connecting said fitting to a second cable, said tap line portion extending angularly from said main line portion,.a neck portion v.

having flattened cross-section connecting said main line portion "and said tap line portion, the said neck, tap line and main line portions being vformed integrally with each other, and a' headed collar section, having a'diameter greater than siad given diameter of said tube on said main line portion adjacent to said neck portion to:

provide for the attachment of a clevis.

2. The method of manufacturing a one piece dead end connector for securing acable' to a support comprising the steps of heading a tube composed of a high ly conductive, malleable metal to form a collar, bending said tube adjacent to said collar, to dispose the ends of said tube in angular relation to each other and reducing the cross-section at said neck to avoid a hollow connection between said ends.

3. The method of manufacturing a one piece connector according to claim 2 whichfurther includes flattening said tube adjacent to said collar prior to bending.

References Cited in the file of this patent" UNITED STATES PATENTS 

